So, i just did some testing on the target dummy, and over a 10 min fight, single target, i had:

44.873 dps with lynx rush

50.981 dps with blink strike

Blink strike hit, atleast 5 times where i noticed it, for 120k+

my avg. ilvl is 483.

I'm no theory crafter, i'm no pro raider, i make mistakes, my numbers may not be accurate since i probably made some mistakes, but this was using the standard BM rotation with KC, GT and DB on cd, AS to dump focus, you know the drill..

well, just think you guys should try it out, i was pretty surprised with this.

haven't tryed testing it in raids yet.

AMoC may still be better, but i hate the 60 focus cost.

Did you consider that you spend 4.5 times as many globals on Blink Strike? It might be a larger percentage of your damage than Blink Strike, however, it cuts into your cobras/arcane shots more than LR does, for instance. I'm not saying BS is worse than LR, just that it's something you need to remember when diong tests like these.

also in regards to your barrage vs GT they both have the same focus cost and use the same number GCDs but barrage does do more damage. people like GT because its easier to deal with i guess, with barrage being casted while moving it is now the better option because with haste it will use less time to cast for more damage.

yes, it still autoattacks, but less frequently (probably that's a bug)

barrage does more damage than GT???
have you got lei shi heroic weapon and the rest of the gear <490 or something? then maybe, otherwise hell no.
GT does ~50k noncrit, Barrage 88k (in my case) thus its 100k vs 88k and GT doesnt block autos.

in this comparison, Barrage has the advantage in AoE situations (just target a mobe somewhere in the middle of the pack, rather than having to find the straight line with the most mobs on it) time and focus cost are similar. it gets more benefit from BW (every second barrage can be used under BW rather than 1/4)
and the reason why I use it: it does 16 attacks to the primary target! it has a huge chance to procc your trinkets for your opening burst. *glanceing at xuen, that bitch*
GT has just lost it's main advantage: the mobility
ps: you never have problems with barrage in a raid environment (breaking CC/pulling etc), just position yourself correctly. (in 5mans okey, can happen)

Why are people still questioning this, aMoC is clearly better than the other two, obviously on some fights its not. And 60 focus is not a big deal at all. A lot of the time you will BW up and if not just prepare for it, its really quite simple. I used to use Lynx Rush and when i switched to Crows i noticed a big dps increase.

yes, it still autoattacks, but less frequently (probably that's a bug)

barrage does more damage than GT???
have you got lei shi heroic weapon and the rest of the gear <490 or something? then maybe, otherwise hell no.
GT does ~50k noncrit, Barrage 88k (in my case) thus its 100k vs 88k and GT doesnt block autos.

in this comparison, Barrage has the advantage in AoE situations (just target a mobe somewhere in the middle of the pack, rather than having to find the straight line with the most mobs on it) time and focus cost are similar. it gets more benefit from BW (every second barrage can be used under BW rather than 1/4)
and the reason why I use it: it does 16 attacks to the primary target! it has a huge chance to procc your trinkets for your opening burst. *glanceing at xuen, that bitch*
GT has just lost it's main advantage: the mobility
ps: you never have problems with barrage in a raid environment (breaking CC/pulling etc), just position yourself correctly. (in 5mans okey, can happen)

i have the normal Lei Shi weapon upgraded to 504 and 493 ilvl... barrage for me always does more damage then glaives for the same focus cost and less cast time.

Why are people still questioning this, aMoC is clearly better than the other two, obviously on some fights its not. And 60 focus is not a big deal at all. A lot of the time you will BW up and if not just prepare for it, its really quite simple. I used to use Lynx Rush and when i switched to Crows i noticed a big dps increase.

aMoC is only better if you can use it A) On CD B) Without losing any DoT time C) Doesn't delay KC

On fights where I know I can stay on boss full time, aMoC is the obvious choice, but for bosses such as Gara'jal(If acting as replacement option for Spirit realm people), Lei Shi, Tsulong, Elegon, Blade Lord and Empress, Blink Strike is way better because you can use it on CD and there is no need to delay it.

I've done some practical tests yesterday on 5th boss in HoF (can't remeber their names...). As bm first pull with blink strike and I eneded with pathetic 78k after 4min. Second pull witac AMotC and after 5min... 77k ;] then switch to SV and kill it with mediocre 127k dps (ranked 191 in wol).

In summary, you can have a different theories but in practice there is no real difference ;]

this. how long have you been playing hunter for? ^^ (lets say: the focus-hunter)

edit: @dzidek: this is a really bad fight to compare dps. it so much depends on stuff like: how many debuffs did your raid gets up on the boss, how many times did you get transformed, how long did the fight last (in the last phase you do so much more dmg because of high stacks on the boss) etc. defenetly not a patchwork fight :-)

The skill is indeed better than Lynx Rush. Maybe not in raw damage itself but in it's utility. You got instant pet teleport to desired target, no downtime on pet autoattacks (which accounts for good chunk of damage as BM). Courage on Will? Target, BS, done pet already DPSes it from behind. Courage died, BS is soon up again to teleport to Strength or something. AMoC isn't any good on those hectic fights, 30 second dot fits a patchwerk style fight but not add-intensive one. DPS isn't everything. You can go "Screw adds, I'm nuking Elegon! I'm topping by a landslide, noobs!" but are you useful to the raid? Nope, you wipe because your add goes through. You topped chart on wiped attempt. Oh, congrats, that parse means a lot.

What I hated in Lynx Rush was it's dumb AOE-y unrealibility on fights with a lot of target switching. Example Elegon cubes, dumb pet would jump between Elegon and the add, when I want that add to die ASAP. On spine HC (post 5.04, pre MOP) it often killed a tentacle and triggered new amalgamation during burst phase on tendons.

Anyway you can swap all those talents as you please during raid, all you need is one item present in inventory. Game's different now and you don't have to cherrypick one mandatory* talent and stick with it because simcraft lists it 100 DPS higher than the other. Use your brain - even 10 year old child can tell a difference between long-lasting DOT with large cooldown and hard-hitting instant on short cooldown.

So, i just did some testing on the target dummy, and over a 10 min fight, single target, i had:

44.873 dps with lynx rush

50.981 dps with blink strike

Of course blink strike itself will do more overall damage, over the course of 5 minute fight, blink strike consumes 25 globals. Lynx Rush consumes 3, 4 with readiness. Those other 20+ globals are damage that you would also need to add in to your LR damage to truly find the difference.

Two reasons I haven't used Blink Strike are because I had it pinned as a BM signature move and the 20 second cooldown clashes too much with a rotation. Is there any way to macro it to existing abilities because trying to keep that up would drive me crazy as SV - I prefer the fire and forget of Lynx Rush (but free focus cost and a competitive cooldown time)

Fly fast, stay low, hit hard.

You'd think the 8th Anniversary was the Cheese Anniversary to go with all the whine.